Excavator.



V. P. KELLER.

EXGAVATOR. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 17, 1910.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

Cal

VOLNEY P. KELLER, OF MALVERN, PENNSYLVANIA.

EXCAVATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

Application filed. March 17, 1910. Serial No. 549,945.

To all whom it may concern Be it. known that I, VOLNEY P. KELLER, a citizen of the United States, residing in Malvern, Chester county, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Excavators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of certain improvements in the excavator for which I obtained Letters Patent of the United States, No. 760,996, on the 24th day of May, 1904:, the object of my present invention being to provide for the better support of the rotary excavator and projecting frame at the bow of the scow or barge, to concentrate, in a more effective manner than before, the force of the forwardly projected streams of water upon the bank which is being cut away, and to so construct the hull of the scow or barge as to provide for the rigid support of the various engine structures carried thereby. These objects I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in section, of an excavator constructed in accordance'wit-h my present invention, and Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of all of the parts with the exception of the rotary cutter which is shown in horizontal section.

The excavator, in its general construction, is similar to that forming the subject of my former Letters Patent and comprises a scow or barge 1 upon the sides of which are pivotally mounted forwardly projecting arms 2 which support a frame 3 and carry the bearings for the shaft 4: of a rotary excavator, the purpose of the latter being to dig a canal in which the barge floats or to deepen a canal already dug, the spoil, as it is dislodged by the action of the cutter,being carried away from the canal by the action of powerful forward currents of water generated by the action of propellers 5 at the bow of the scow.

An objection to the former type of ex cavator was the difiiculty of properly supporting the projecting frame, the cutter and its operating mechanism which caused such an excess of weight at the bow of the scow that, when the supporting arms 2 were locked to the hull, the buoyancy of the latter was not sufficient to properly support the projecting bow structure and cutter, the scow or barge being drawn down by the head and the cutter pressed against the bottom of the canal, with the result that the cutting operation was not uniform and the bot-tom of the canal was not maintained at the same level. I overcome this objection by making the body of the cutter in the form of an air and water tight drum 6, which possesses sufficient buoyancy to sup port the overhanging bow structure of the barge and permits me to regulate the depth and character of the cut in such manner that the depth of cut is uniform at all times, the buoyancy being so proportioned to the weight that uniform pressure of the cutter upon the bottom of the canal can be readily maintained. 1

The drum 6 has mounted upon its eX- terior, a series of projecting rings 7 which carry the cutting blades 9, the central ring also carrying a toothed gear ring'lO, with which engages a driving chain 11, adapted to a toothed wheel 12 on a shaft 18 mounted in bearings on the top of the frame 3, as shown in Fig. 1, this shaft having a pulley 14 for the reception of a driving belt 15 from the engine 16, mounted upon the hull of the scow and employed for the purpose of imparting a rotating movement to the cutter.

The projecting frame 3 also carries a deflector 17 located in advance of the cutter and it provides bearings for a shaft 19 having windlasses 20 upon which are wound cables 21, suitably anchored in advance of the scow, so that, by turning said windlasses, the scow can be drawn ahead as the cutting of the canal progresses.

Each of the propellers 5 is carried by a shaft 22 extending to an engine 23 mounted on the hull of the barge and each propeller 5 is contained in a channel-way in a funnel 24, carried by a transverse partition 25 at the bow of the barge, the lower portion of said partition carrying a forwardly and downwardly projecting apron 26 which may,

if desired, be so mounted that its forward end can be raised or lowered in order to determine, in a measure, the direction of the currents of water projected forwardly by the propellers 5.

The end rings 7 of the drum 6 serve to confine within the lateral limits of the cutter, the streams of water projected forwardly by the propellers 5, and the intervening rings 7 serve to subdivide and direct these streams so that the force of the latter is wholly concentrated upon the bank upon which the cutters are acting, any lateral deflection of the streams of water before they reach said bank being effectually prevented and the subdivision of the streams insuring substantially uniform action of the water throughout the entire width of cut.

As the rotary cutter is not now dependent for its support upon the buoyancy of the hull of the scow, the provision formerly adopted for locking the projecting arms 2 to the hull of the scow may, if desired, be dispensed with, although it is preferable to use them, in order that the buoyancy of the scow may, if occasion requires, be added to that of the drum 6, as a means of supporting the cutter.

In order to provide a rigid support for the engine 16 which drives the cutter, said engine is mounted directly upon transverse beams 27 which constitute part of the structural frame work of the hull of the scow, and, for the same reasons, the propellerdriving engines 23 are mounted upon longitudinal beams 29 carried by transverse beams 80 which also constitute part of the structural framework of the scow, the cutterrotating engine having its cylinders disposed athwartships of the scow and the propeller driving engines having their cylinders disposed in fore-and-aft lines.

The arms 2 carry depending aprons 31 which serve to prevent lateral escape of the currents of water in their passage from the propellers 5 to the rotary cutter and the lower apron 26 is hinged at 32 to these side aprons, whereby, as the arms 2 are raised or lowered, the forward edge of the apron 26 will be raised and lowered accordingly, the partition 25 being sufficiently flexible to permit such movement, and said edge will therefore always preserve the same relation to the bottom of the rotary cutter.

I claim:

l. The combination, in an excavator, of a scow, a water tight drum in advance of the hull of the scow, transverse cutters carried by said drum and providing spaces between the same and the drum, means for causing a forwardly flowing current of water to pass under the drum and through the spaces between the same and the cutters, and means for confining said current of water within the lateral limits of the drum.

2. The combination, in an excavator, of a scow, a water tight drum located in advance of the hull of the scow, transverse cutters carried by said drum and providing spaces between the same and the drum, means for causing a forward flow of water underneath the drum and through the spaces between the same and the cutters, means for confining said flow of water within the lat eral limits of the drum, and means for subdividing such fiow of water within such limits.

3. The combination of a scow, a rotary cutter in advance of the same, means for causing forwardly flowing currents of water through said cutter, and side aprons for preventing lateral escape of the water on its way to the cutter.

4C. The combination of a scow, a rotary cutter in advance of the same, pivoted and vertically movable arms carrying said outter, means for causing forwardly flowing currents of water through the cutter, and side aprons secured to the cutter carrying arms and serving to prevent lateral escape of the water on its way to the cutter.

5. The combination of a scow, a rotary cutter in advance of the same, a vertically movable support for said cutter, means for causing forwardly flowing currents of water through the cutter, a lower apron for directing said currents of water to the cutter, and side aprons having pivotal connection. with said lower apron and carried by the vertically adjustable cutter support, said aprons serving to prevent lateral escape of the water on its way to the cutter.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

VOLNEY P. KELLER. lVitnesses KATE A. BEADLE, HAMILTON D. TURNER.

Copies of this patent may be Obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

